Centrix/Baycorp Alliance

The boss of Baycorp says its decision to buy a stake in credit reporting firm Centrix will not affect its relationship with a rival agency.

Baycorp yesterday told staff and stakeholders it had bought a 10 per cent stake in Centrix - a rival to Veda Advantage with which it already has a contract to provide debt collection services.

New Zealand general manager Donna Cooper said Baycorp would continue to work with Veda. "We are really committed to our relationship with Veda. [The Centrix deal] doesn't impact on our data-sharing relationship. We have got a good working relationship with them. I'd like to think that wouldn't change."

Cooper said the company had decided to buy the stake in Centrix and form an alliance with the company in order to offer a range of credit reporting products to its clients. These would initially include consumer reports, company directorship checks and motor vehicle reports.

Centrix was set up four years ago by Keith McLaughlin, a former managing director of Baycorp, in a bid to provide greater competition.

There are just three credit reporting agencies that operate in New Zealand. McLaughlin said the synergies between the two businesses were very strong. "We gain important support from Baycorp both from the data uploaded by Centrix and sales support provided by Baycorp taking Centrix to its extensive customer base.

"The addition of Baycorp data along with widespread support from most collection companies in New Zealand provides Centrix with a very powerful and competitive credit reporting database."

Cooper said Centrix would continue to operate as an autonomous business and there were no plans to buy it out in the future.

What is Baycorp?

Baycorp provides debt collection services to the government and large and small businesses across New Zealand and Australia. It is also the largest purchaser of telco and utility debt in Australasia.

Founded in New Zealand in 1956 by the McLaughlin family, the company underwent significant expansion through the 1990s and early 2000s, expanding into the Australian market in 1998.

It moved to private equity ownership in 2006, and is jointly owned by SAS Trustee Corporation and Oceania Capital Partners.

It has approximately 500 employees across Australia and New Zealand, with three main locations - Auckland, Sydney and Perth.